Apple Hit with Patent Lawsuit Over Mobile Safari

Apple is the target of yet another patent lawsuit, this time over a company claiming it holds a patent that covers how Web-based content is displayed on mobile devices such as the iPhone.

The case was filed against Apple by Softview in U.S. District Court in Delaware. It describes a process where Web pages can be scaled and rendered for easier viewing on mobile devices that sounds surprisingly like Apple’s Mobile Safari app.

The patent states, “Mobile devices enabled to support resolution-independent scalable display of Internet (Web) content to allow Web pages to be scaled (zoomed) and panned for better viewing on smaller screen sizes.”

It also states, “The scalable content and/or data derived therefrom are then employed to enable the Web content to be rapidly rendered, zoomed, and panned. Moreover, the rendered displays provide substantially the same or identical layout as the original Web page, enabling users to easily navigate to selected content and features on familiar Web pages.”

Softview is requesting an injunction against Apple along with cash damages.